Boeing’s Starliner capsule makes another attempt to reach the International Space Station (ISS) on the night from Friday to Saturday. If it succeeds, that would be a major achievement for Boeing, which has been plagued by problems until now.
Starliner, if all goes well, will make an unmanned flight and dock with the ISS. This is Boeing’s second attempt. In December 2019, the launch ended in disappointment: the capsule did not enter the correct orbit to reach the ISS. It turned out later that it had to do with errors in the software.
A second attempt was long in coming. Boeing was preparing Starliner for a rematch in August, but the launch was canceled several hours in advance due to technical problems. The capsule was returned to Boeing for repair.
The problems have now been resolved and the Starliner capsule is making another flight on Friday night. The capsule will be mounted on an Atlas V rocket of the United Launch Alliance (a collaboration between Boeing and Lockheed Martin).
The new attempt will bring supplies for the astronauts aboard the space station. The capsule has 180 kilograms of food and other items on board.
Competitor for SpaceX
In 2014, NASA signed contracts with SpaceX and Boeing to develop spacecraft that could transport astronauts to the ISS. This as part of the Commercial Crew program. SpaceX’s capsule is called Crew Dragon, and it has taken astronauts to and from the ISS several times.
Boeing thus competes with SpaceX’s capsule. It is nice for NASA that there are several suppliers of space capsules. The American space organization then no longer has to buy seats from the Russian Soyuz capsules. And if something happens to SpaceX or to Boeing, the organization can more easily switch to the other party. NASA has shut down its own space shuttle program since 2011.
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